1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cleaning sheet for cleaning a bill identification unit disposed in a bill processor, and more particularly to a cleaning sheet for a bill identification unit used for cleaning a bill identification sensor of a bill identification unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an automatic vending machine is equipped with a bill processor which judges the genuineness of an inserted bill, storing the bill if it is judged as genuine and returning the bill if it is judged as counterfeit. The bill processor includes a bill identification unit for judging the genuineness of the inserted bill.
Such a bill identification unit comprises, as its main components, various bill identification sensors such as a photosensor, which detects light and shade or gradation of color and other data on the bill without making contact with the bill, and a magnetic sensor, which contacts the bill and slides thereon to detect the magnetism of the bill.
When an inserted bill passes through the bill identification unit provided inside the bill processor, the genuineness of the bill is judged by the above mentioned bill identification sensors, and the bill is stored in a stacker equipped in the bill processor if judged as genuine, or is returned through a bill slot if judged as counterfeit.
These various bill identification sensors of the bill identification unit, however, may drop identification capability when they are contaminated due to long term use. To prevent the drop in capability, periodic maintenance and inspection operation, such as cleaning of each bill identification sensor, is necessary.
To perform this maintenance and inspection operation of the bill identification unit, the bill processor must be disassembled so that each of the bill identification sensors of the bill identification unit is exposed, and then each exposed identification sensor is carefully cleaned using such a tool as a cotton swab.
To clean the bill identification unit, it is necessary that the bill processor is disassembled to expose each sensor of the bill identification unit, and an operator cleans using such a tool as a cotton swab, as mentioned above, which makes the maintenance and inspection operation extremely complicated.
One available method to ease the complicated nature of the maintenance and inspection operation is inserting a bill-shaped cleaning sheet into a bill inlet slit, and passing it through the bill identification unit during which the bill identification sensors of the bill identification unit are cleaned. However, since this conventional cleaning sheet removes contamination by sliding on sensors, only a bill identification sensor of a type which contact with a bill and slides on the bill, such as a magnetic head, can be cleaned. However, for a bill identification sensor such as a photosensor, which is disposed such as to be slightly retreated from the surface of the bill transporting route and identifies the genuineness of a bill without contact, the surface of the cleaning sheet does not reach the sensor. As a consequence, such a bill identification sensor which identifies a bill without contact cannot be cleaned by the cleaning sheet. Therefore, the bill processor must be disassembled to exposed the sensor, and the exposed sensor is cleaned by such a tool as a cotton swab, as in the conventional method. Thus, a complicated maintenance and inspection operation cannot be improved by using the cleaning sheet.
With the foregoing in view, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning sheet for a bill identification unit which can easily clean even if a non-contact type bill identification sensor is slightly retreated from the surface of a bill transporting route.
To solve the above problem, according to the present invention, a cleaning sheet for cleaning a bill identification unit having a bill identification sensor embedded in a concave portion of a chute surface constituting a bill transporting route, the bill identification unit judging genuineness of a bill passing through the bill identification sensor, comprises a main sheet body of approximately the same shape as a bill; and a brush part which is planted vertically from a surface of the main sheet body at a position facing the bill identification sensor, when the brush part passes through the bill transporting route, wherein the brush part slides on the bill identification sensor when the brush part passes through the bill identification sensor so as to clean the bill identification sensor and the concave portion.